Find Industry and Manufacturing expertise in Papua New Guinea

In 2012 the industrial sector in Papua New Guinea contributed approximately 44% to the country’s total GDP, of which manufacturing played a relatively small role, contributing just 6% of the total GDP for the same year, with the biggest contribution to the industrial sector coming from mining and petroleum excavation. These figures have remained fairly steady since 2008 (World Bank, 2012).

The manufacturing industry has traditionally played a fairly small role in Papua New Guinea; this is attributed to a small domestic market, high labour costs and high transport costs. Traditional industrial products from Papua New Guinea include fish, timber, coffee, cocoa, copra and palm oil. Traditionally most manufactured products were produced for domestic consumption.

While manufacturing still plays a fairly small role in the economy of Papua New Guinea, the country’s manufactured products have begun to enter the global market places. These products include: food and beverages; building materials; handicrafts; household items and furniture; packaging; and paints and coatings. One of the most widely known food production companies in Papua New Guinea is Paradise Foods Limited, which is the oldest established food manufacturing company in the country. Paradise Foods limited produce food products for the international and regional markets, including biscuits, corn chips and potato chips.

One of Papua New Guinea’s major trade partners is Australia, which accounts for 44% of the country’s total exports; Papua New Guinea also exports to parts of Asia, including Japan and China. The main products for export include gold and gold content (57%), crude petroleum oil (11%), and timber 11%. The most commonly imported products include petroleum oils 20% and machinery and parts 12% (The Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2010). The Country is also largely dependent on imports of clothing and footwear. A vast majority of Mauritius’ imported goods come from Australia (46%), and parts of Asia (The Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2010).

In 2013 the government of Papua New Guinea made plans to develop the country’s domestic production base in a bid to reduce the reliance of the economy on non-renewable resource industries. Government plans were to generate greater national production of most basic consumer and industrial goods. In order to achieve these incentives and concessions have been granted to businesses with a policy of import substitution. Plans to improve infrastructure and reduce input tariffs to cut costs incurred from the production process were also made, in order to address the problems that the manufacturing sector has so far experienced (Investment Promotion Authority Papua New Guinea, 2013).

The Manufacturers Council of Papua New Guinea is a private sector organisation representing over 75 manufacturing companies within the country. The Manufacturers Council of Papua New Guinea seeks to promote manufacturing and downstream processing in Papua New Guinea.